tv. it is thursday, march 31st. coming up on "early today," donald trump walks back his comments on abortion rights. >> the answer is that there has to be some form of punishment. >> to the woman? >> yes. >> but to punish a woman for having an abortion is beyond comprehensive. and to tornados overnight and more on the way. our bill karins says more than

for severe weather. and president obama meets to discuss a strategy to defeat isis. and a cartoon donald trump and much more on a busy thursday. "early today" starts right now. good morning everybody. i'm betty nguyen. donald trump created a fire storm during a town hall meeting. the pair played hardball on everything from immigration to marijuana. but the most surprising moment came while discussing abortion. >> so, the woman would be punished for having an abortion? this is not something you can dodge. if you say abortion is a crime or murder, you have to deal with it under the law. should abortion be punished? >> well, people in surtd certain part of the republican party would say yes. >> how about you? >> i would say it's a very serious problem and a problem we

are you going to say put them in jail? >> you want to ban it. what does that mean? >> well, you know, you'll go back to a position like they had where people will perhaps go to illegal places but you have to ban it. >> you ban it and they go to somebody who flunked out of medical school -- >> how do you go with the church's position. >> i concur with their position. the church's make their moral -- but you running for president will be chief executive of the united states. do you believe in punish mnts ish ishment for abortion?

some form of punishment. >> 10 years? what? >> that, i don't know. everything else. >> i do. it's a very complicated position. >> tell me what the law should be. >> i'm pro-life. i have not determined what the punishment would be. >> why not? you're saying you want to ban abortion. how do you do that without a sanction? and then you get into a tricky question of a sanction. a fine, a an imprisonment for a young woman who finds herself pregnant. what about the guy who gets her pregnant? is he responsible or not responsible? >> different feelings, different people. i would say no. >> well, the back lash was swift with presidential candidates from both sides of the aisle condemning them.

abortions be punished? >> absolutely not. of course, women shouldn't be punished. i think probably donald trump will find a way to say he was misquoted. >> what donald trump said today was outrageous and dangerous. and you know, i'm constantly taken aback at the kinds of things that he advocates for. shows you who they are, believe them and once again, he has shown us who he is. >> but to punish a woman for having an abortion is beyond comp rehension. one would say what is in donald trump's mind except we're tired of saying that. >> ted cruz responded by saying

in a rare moment of unity, planned parenthood president denounced the donald on twitter. and from the head of march for life, a group that wants to overturn roe v wade. >> we would not advocate any form of punishment for a woman who's made such a desperate and sad choice as abortion. >> and trump announced a statement fully walking back his remark. now, this all comes as a new poll taken before last night's

trump, which is a drastic shift when trump had a commanding lead and he's polling behind both cruz and john kasich in support of women in the state. and sanders is ahead of clinton by four points. that's a slight increase from february. it was a frightening night of severe weather for many with almost 28 million people at risk today. several buildings were severely damaged and roads closed. take you to kansas. laelrge blocks of hail pounded homes and vehicles while life threatening flash floods hit arkansas washing away a dumpster. classes were canceled at the little rock campus. and one made use of the entrance to his dorm. meanwhile mississippi's director of emergency management said they're preparing for up to five

>> a lot of life threatening weather and the flash flooding is always a big risk. this morning, torrential rains continue. we're not dealing with the large hail. now this is going to continue through the day. some areas have already pecked up three to five inches of rain. there's the heavy rain around memphis. jackson, mississippi just cleared yourself. and moving towards alabama this morning. we're going to regenerate the storms later on today. 27 million people in the slight risk and enhanced risk combined. northern mississippi, alabama is at the greatest risk of tornados. from birmingham northward, those are the areas of greatest concern. and there was a tornado yesterday in tulsa and you weren't in the greater risk area. flash flood warnings in and

east of little rock and greenville. those areas have already seen three to five inches of rain. flash flood watches from atlanta to central georgia. possibilities of two to four inches, isolated totals up to six inches. that's your national weather, now a closer look at your day ahead. so, the thunderstorms rolling this morning will slowly dissipate and then we'll get round two to this evening. airport travels and on the roads will be difficult. and to the north, we see isolated strong thunderstorms as far south as southern michigan and tomorrow we're going to have an additional severe weather threat but not as bad as today. today president obama kicks off a two day nuclear summit with over 50 world leaders.

nuclear proliferation around the world. president vladimir putin has boycotted the event. all this as donald trump told msnbc's chris matthews that he refuses to rule out using nuclear weapons. >> i would never take any of my cards off the table. >> in europe? >> no, i don't think so -- >> i'm just saying. >> i am not taking cards off the table. >> trump has previously said he is okay with other countries, such as south korea, japan and saudi arabia getting nuclear weapons. president obama is commuting the sentences of 61 prisoners. they're serving time for drug related off enls ens under outdated sentencing laws. more than a third were serving life behind bars after he had

given a second chance. >> and listening to your stories also reminded me how out of proportion and counter productive so much of our sentencing when it comes to our drug laws at the federal and state level. >> he's made a total of 248 comutations, that's more than the past six presidents combined. cdc expands range of zika mosquitos to the midwest and northeast. the new map includes areas where zika mosquitos have been seen recently or previously. and metro could shut down entire railways for maintenance. the state of d.c.'s metro rail system is so dire that metro lines may be shut down for up to six months. track work on nights and weekends will not sufficiently end the delays and dampgerous

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orleans could become an island. protests in minneapolis when they announced they would not charge officers in the fatal shooting of jumar clark. chilling new information is coming to light after the bombing in brussels. a laptop contained information on the belgium prime minister's office. >> reporter: that's the entrance to the office of the belgium prime minister, this country's equivalent of the white house right on the street and just a half a block away, the u.s. embassy. >> just as dutch authorities argue whether an alert was shared. chipotle mexican grill is brarning out to burgers.

income dropped 41% after an e.coli outbreak nation wide. and michael jordan coming in 2015. this year he'll earn more than any other athlete in the world retired or active. david beckham's earnings were 65 million last year. arnold palmer made $1.8 million. he earned 22 times that in 2015. and brazilian soccer legend earned 14 million. just ahead, did a lakers rookie betray his own teammate. and the shot of the day from a

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this morning on "today," nattily morales gets an exclusive sneak peek at a new rescued sea lions exhibit at the georgia aquerium. and nbcnews.com reports deangelo russell is quickly losing the respect of his teammates. the reason, a secretly recorded and then leaked conversation with nick young about being with women other than his fiance who happens to be australian rapper, iggy azalea. he's appall

may be too much. >> so, as sick as possible. i wish i could make things better right away, but i can't. if i've lost anybody's trust, i'm going to work my tail off to bring it back. >> i don't want to get into my personal life right now. i think it's best me and deangelo handle the situation we have in a private manner outside the media. >> will russell find himself playing elsewhere? we shall see. and the utah jazz bringing the heat to golden state. and 103-96. but the shot of the day might belong to caitlyn jenner playing in an lpga pro-a.m., she nailed a an eagle on the first

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and sorken did write the original broadway play that was adapted into the ausks oscar nominated movie. and charlie sheen will produce a new dockueseries called "oj is innocent." and whoopee goldberg will sell cannibis oils and bath rubs aimed to soothe menstrual cramps. jeopardy has its power players week in april, bill just missed the list but chuck todd and alfrankten. >> it wouldn't be fair to the others. >> contestants will play to the

and six star has announced voice roles in the upcoming "finding dory." snl alums are among the cast. finding dory hits theaters this summer. >> it will be huge. >> i know it will. can't wait. and steven colbert had an exclusive interview with donald trump on the late show last night. well, kind of. >> now, mr. cartoon trump, how do you respond to anderson cooper calling you a 5-year-old. >> anderson cooper is a dumb, dumb, a poppy pants. >> i have to say right now you're sounding a little immature. >> i know you are, but what am i? >> oh -- >> i'm betty nguyen. and this is show hoe. and this is "early today."

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leading the news on nbcnews.com donald trump releases curious letter on tied-up tax returns. after trump's controversial comments on abortion, they're turning the tide to taxes. they released a letter in the state of his tax returns but it's 23 days old. and governor of alabama said he won't quit. he says he has no plans to resign.

squeaky clean public officials has been somewhat dismantled with some law makers speaking about impeachment. you've got to check out this choking smog over mexico city. all cars must remain idle once a week and vehicles are to be kept off roads one saturday a month. it runs until the end of june. well, more women will have access to an abortion inducing pill after the fda issued new guide lines. they can now use it further into their pregnancy and with fewer visits to the doctor. and what would you do if you came across this on your afternoon walk? there it is. yeah. one woman got quite the scare when she came face to face with a panther at a florida swamp sanctuary.

bit of a hurry and in other panther news, a man in florida had a special visitor lounging on his porch. and he just went along its marry way. which is good news. so, any reporter in this business can tell you that in the field anything can go. [ bleep] >> what if that happened in the middle of the cut? >> she soon regained her composure and had a chance to unite with lola in a more prepared setting. >> what did she think it was though? that scream was pretty -- >> and it's on there for a second. so, it's almost like she didn't want to look to see. >> did she think it was a tarantula?

brussels' airport could open as soon as tooed. they say it could take months before it could return to .

clear look at the man wanted in a robbery spree terrorizing elderly people in brooklyn. donald trump doing damage control following the controversial comments about abortion. a flight diverted by turbulence is sent a drink cart flying through the cabin. "today in new york" starts now. good morning everybody. thursday morning, march 31st. i'm darlene rodriguez. i'm michael gargiulo. storm team 4's chris cimino is here with the forecast. chris, let's just say i'm happy you weren't on that flight >> i might never fly again. temperatures in the lofty levels coming up. march going out like a lamb. temperatures in the mid-40s. very few 30s. 50 in the city right now. we see a 36 in morristown and 38 in bridgewater. the hudson valley, 40s. there's cloud cover out there too. but thin spots out to the west. we'll see varying amounts of clouds and more clouds building later in the day as the storm